HO CAR WEIGHT

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I AM TRYING TO WEIGHT MY ROLLING STOCK AS PER RP-20.1. I AM HAVING A PROBLEM UNDERSTANDING IT. I HAVE A TANK CAR THAT IS 8 1/2" LONG. COULD SOMEONE TELL ME HOW MUCH IT SHOULD WEIGH ACCORDING TO RP-20.1.

2

With a model 8 1/2’’ long it should have 5.3 ounces.

Wolfgang

3

1 ounce initial car weight + 1/2 ounce per inch of car length. 1+.5+.5+.5+.5+.5+.5+.5+.5+.25 = 5.25 So the car should be five and a quarter ounces.

4

One oz. plus .5 oz. for every one inch of car length. 8.5" car length equals 4.25 oz plus the basic 1 oz, comes out to 5.25 or 5.3 total weight

5

using the RP formula I made a “ruler” marked off in “ounces” rather than inches. All I have to do is hold the device up next to the car & instantly know what the recommended weight should be

6

I keep a similar chart of my own taped right above the digital scale I use. My own experience is not to agonize over “close calls.” For example, a 57 foot reefer versus a 60 foot boxcar, or a 34 foot hopper versus a 36 foot reefer. And for flats and gons I just come as close as I can to the RP weight.

Dave Nelson

7

Something I don’t get. Some of you are saying that a half ounce is .25 but on my scale .25 is a quarter ounce, .5 is a half ounce and .75 is three quarters of an ounce.

8

Jeff:

I think that the confusion is that last 1/2 inch. In your calculation you counted it as an inch.

Joe

9

Ah ha! Got it. Thanks.

10

I simply have a piece of wood that I mounted track to, mounted a Kadee coupler height gauge and marked off the coomon freight car lentghts in both scale feet and recommended weight. Just couple the car to see if the heights correct and see what it should weigh before I put it on the scale.

Ricky

11

I made a “tray” from 1/8" MDF. The base is long enough for a pig flat, and the side and end rails are about 1/4" wide. The rails keep the car from rolling off the tray, and stiffen it a little. Zero is marked at the center, and the ounce markings march out from there, a half inch apart. (The other half inch is on the other side of the centered Zero.) The tray stays on my electronic scale, so the read out on the scale ignores the tray when I turn it on. Car goes on the center of the tray, and I can compare RP weight at the end of the car to the actual weight. I also use it to weigh kits before they are complete so I can glue the weight inside if the car will end up beilg sealed.

Phil